Donald Trump asked Angela Merkel for advice on how to deal with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump reportedly asked Angela Merkel for advice on how to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met at the White House last week.

CNN reported that the US President asked the German Chancellor – who is the longest-serving leader in the European Union – about how to deal with Mr Putin.

It said it wasn’t clear what advice she had offered, though said officials had suggested Mr Trump at times didn’t seem to be listening to the answer.

The White House has denied the account of the discussions, CNN reported.

According to CNN, the one-on-one meeting at the White House was calm and Mr Trump “behaved himself”.

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But it reportedly later became less amicable in a larger plenary session as the US President raised the issue of Germany’s large trade surplus and its defence spending, as well as accusing Ms Merkel of being “so protectionist” in her trade policies.